Balkh

Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan, about 20 km (12 mi) northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some 74 km (46 mi) south of the Amu Darya river and the Uzbekistan border. Its population was estimated to be 138,594 in 2021–22 by the Afghan National Statistic and Information Authority. Listed as the current 8th most populous city in the country, 2024 estimates set the population of Balkh at 114,883. Balkh was historically an ancient place of religions, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, and one of the wealthiest and largest cities of Bactria, since the latter's earliest history. The city was also known to Persians as Zariaspa and to the Ancient Greeks as Bactra, giving its name to Bactria (They also called the city Zariaspa). As such, it was famously known as the capital of Bactria or Tokharistan. Marco Polo described Balkh as a "noble and great city". Balkh is now for the most part a mass of ruins, situated some 12 km (7.5 mi) from the right bank of the seasonally flowing Balkh River, at an elevation of about 365 m (1,198 ft). Balkh is a multiethnic city with a substantial Tajik population, who in particular are native to the region and have continually inhabited the city for millennia. The main language of the city is Farsi, which is spoken by a significant majority. The region around Balkh is particularly known for it's archeology and historical sites which represent many different cultures that at various times influenced the city. French Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel associated Shambhala with Balkh, also offering the Persian Sham-i-Bala ("elevated candle") as an etymology of its name. In a similar vein, the Gurdjieffian J. G. Bennett published speculation that Shambalha was Shams-i-Balkh, a Bactrian sun temple.